Melodies by the Mekong
It was a significant Thursday night. An iconic Filipino choral group performed at Cambodia’s iconic Chaktomuk Theatre, symbolising the power of music in connecting two nations whose culture, history and language vary. Agnes Alpuerto and Som Kanika join the friendship concert by the Philippine Madrigal Singers in the Kingdom.
The Filipino language is very distinct from Khmer. As a matter of fact, the two languages do not follow the same alphabet. But where language stalls, music connects. This was proven true by the ‘Melodies by the Mekong: A Friendship Concert by the Philippine Madrigal Singers’ last week at the storied Chaktomuk Conference Hall in Phnom Penh.
Wearing colourful dresses and gray barongs, the members of the globally renowned choral group went into the center stage, settled in their seats, hummed in low voices before bursting into different but harmonious melodies of ‘Magdiwang, Magpuri’, one of the Philippines’ most notable religious and cultural songs.
Agnes Alpuerto and Som Kanika
